Keith Jackson: Fit, proper and no place to hide - it's time for Dave King to deliver at Rangers

Over to you Dave... the SFA have delivered their verdict, now it's time for King to prove he can make Rangers a force again (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

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THE fit and proper storm has not blown itself out just yet but at least, from Dave King’s point of view it is very much behind him. Very soon it will have disappeared completely from his horizon.

However, when the dust does settle, King will be left out in the open and for the first time since he positioned himself in the eye of the Rangers debacle there will be no place for him to hide.

Today, in fact, King is expected to hold his first media conference since having his ascent to the office of chairman cleared by the SFA on Tuesday afternoon.

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Since that moment the general noise level around King has been deafening but hopefully a hush is about to descend because now the real examination of this man can begin and his every word must be heard loud and clear.

Until now King has cloaked himself in silence and mystery. Yes, on occasion - and only when it has suited him to do so - he has broken cover with a machine gun rattle of sound bites and some military precision PR.

"On arrival at Glasgow Airport on Tuesday night he made a great deal of declaring that his cash investment in Rangers was entirely dependent upon the outcome of the fit and proper probe on Hampden’s sixth floor." (Image: JSHPIX.CO)

Understandably, he retreated into the shadows while the SFA went about its work and, quite rightly, he gave an undertaking not to get involved in the business of running Rangers while a decision was being made. King promised not to operate as a shadow director and - given his lack of contribution over the last two months - it appears as if he’s been as good as his word.

But now it is time for this man to really start delivering on his promises which is precisely why such keen attention will be paid to what pledges he is about to give later today.

King even insisted he had made all of this perfectly clear on previous visits to his native city and his indignation suggested anyone who thought otherwise had not been paying proper attention. But hold on a minute there Dave, no you most certainly did not.

In fact, this is what he said in February when, after talking of a £16m cash investment, he was asked if a fit and proper block would alter his plans.

King said then: “It wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t change my shareholding, it wouldn’t change my passion for the club. I’d still be a fan. I’d just put on an alternate director, quite frankly.

“Actually, it’s just something that makes no difference. If, after the gm, I go to the SFA and they say: ‘Look Dave, we’re very uncomfortable. You stayed on the board while Craig Whyte was there, we have difficulties with that. If I couldn’t contest that I’d say: ‘Fine, I’d go off the board then and appoint someone else.’ The game is much bigger than me being on the board.”

And yet, as he swept through the arrivals hall on Tuesday night, King said: “My ongoing investment depended on me getting through the fit and proper test so now it has been cleared I’m in a position to proceed.”

Ultimately, King and his supporters will argue none of this really matters. He’s here now and ready to get on with the job.

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Maybe so. But that doesn’t come close to explaining this peculiar contradiction or, for that matter, where the current Rangers regime might have been left had King been denied the opportunity to claim the biggest chair in their boardroom.

King bristles every time the phrase ‘glib and shameless liar’ is trotted out as a character reference against him and with good reason. He finds it grossly unfair that these four words have been cherry-picked and framed for posterity from 11 years worth of courtroom litigation and, given the enormity of that case, he has a point.

But that is precisely why he must chose his words carefully and why a section of Rangers fans - albeit a small minority - might yet view him with a smidgen of suspicion. It’s not that his love for their club is in question nor his good intentions.

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King too is a lifelong fan so they can be certain that this is not a fleeting bout of Rangersitis - the condition which left pound signs flashing in the eyes of previous fly by nights.

No, King is quite clearly not another Green or Whyte.

But, equally, it’s too simple to say he deserves blind faith just because of his bluenose.

It’s the colour of his money which will count most of all because King has also made some big promises about how many of his millions he will plough into a club which still requires to be cleansed from the top to the bottom. Last year, in a Q&A with this paper, King talked casually about blowing north of £30m of his children’s inheritance on Rangers as if he had dropped more down the back of the family sofa.

"Now that he’s finally been cleared to get his wallet out, King must give a few straight answers." (Image: SNS Group)

By February the figure he mentioned was £16m - not all of which was necessarily coming out of his back pocket. So again the question must be asked, just how much is he really willing to lose on this love affair?

In fact, having recently signed a £40m cheque to the South African tax man, what is left in his kitty?

Yes, it’s vulgar to talk about money but, now that he’s finally been cleared to get his wallet out, King must give a few straight answers. How much does he estimates this rebuild will cost? And how much of the tab is he personally willing to cover.

Also, King may wish to explain why he’s not already parted with a first £5m in order to clear Mike Ashley out of Ibrox and reclaim the club’s brick and mortar assets along with its badges and crests. It could be that there is a strategy in play here and perhaps the ongoing probes into Ashley’s business with previous Rangers owners might be at the heart of it.

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It could make more sense to wait until the police investigations into all manner of murky contracts have been concluded before any more money swaps hands and if that is the reason for stalling on Ashley’s repayment then King should come out and say so. Or if there is some other game afoot then, again, King should let the Rangers fans in on it because many thousands of them wish for Ashley to be sent packing with immediate effect.

Yes over the days and weeks ahead, King will have other issues with which to grapple not least the appointment of a full time manager and the face-lift of a first team squad. There are other questions too such as when the club will be listed on the ISDX market? And who will be selected for roles on his executive team?

It would be unreasonable to expect him to have all the answers today. But, even so, the time has come for King to start delivering on the detail.